Nelson Makes Art!

Nelson grew up along the beaches of southern New Jersey, finding his stomping grounds among Ocean City’s 7th Street and North Street beaches and boardwalks. Loving art from an early age, he dove into a career as a theatrical artist, designing scenery and lighting for stage productions up and down the eastern United States, lending his creative style from tiny one-room shows to huge regional theaters.

In 1998, he fulfilled his dream of designing on Broadway when his production of The Wind in the Willows opened at the New Victory Theatre on 42nd Street. With this life goal achieved so young, Nelson began searching for new horizons and artistic possibilities.

Back home in Ocean City, an impromptu beachfront watercolor class with Kim Weiland became the roots of a whole new passion and direction for painting. In 2009 Nelson left the theatre industry to pursue his surf painting and zen watercolor art.

From that time, many different roads, including working for Apple Inc, (which, to date, has still been the best ‘real job’ of his life), finally led him to form ‘Nelson Makes Art!’ Studio in Virginia, where he spent several happy years developing commissioned pieces in his flip-flops.

‘Nelson Makes Art!’ then led him far far west to the opposite coast of sunny Los Angeles. Currently Senior Show Designer of RGH Themed Entertainment, Nelson works with a diverse team of artists across many disciplines, designing theme parks and attractions around the world. He writes with the same vigor and passion as he paints, and also in flip flops.

Though back in the office (sometimes), living in LA and working with such a talented team has only spurred Nelson’s creative spirit. He continues to paint daily while basking in the warm, SoCal sun, creating fantasy worlds of titanic waves, perfect palms, fantastic sunsets, calm snowy groves, and auroras of uncompromising beauty.